Designing for this dummy

So I thought I'd share my process for designing. It's not hard or complicated really.

First, I get ideas from random things. Pictures on the internet, something I see in the store or on the street, or maybe just some random thought. Last week I was obsessed with figuring out what motif I could use that would easily lend itself to many uses. Finally I settled on the triangle. You can put it together a million ways for a million designs. So I went cruising Pinterest to get some ideas.

www.pinterest.com/tamsin5/motifs/

Well now I really had some ideas. Next, I need to design my own triangle pattern. I might get inspiration from others but my work has to be my own. Crochet is the only thing I'm any good at so it's a point of pride with me. I could spend hours drawing, trying to put together the stitches and then crochet but I'm more a fly by the seat of my pants type. So I grabbed some yarn and started stitching.

So these are variations on the same theme, trying out how the stitches connect and the triangle grows. Once I have an idea how this is working I have to see how they look joined.

 

Okay so far so good. I have a plan. But since I have an idea what yarn I want my final product to be in, I grabbed some left over and started working in that. Big surprise, its Mini Maiden by Handmaiden Yarns. Its like my favoritest yarn ever. Seriously, I'd marry this yarn and have it's babies.

 

Looks a lot different huh? That's why it's important to do samples in the yarn you want to use. Sometimes a whole project can be ruined by using a fluffy yarn when a smooth yarn is called for. Or a variegated yarn when a solid color is needed. But I'm not displeased with the look so I press on.

So that looks kind of cool. Time to roll production. Ball up a skein of working yarn. Mini Maiden in Pinata.

Such a beautiful spring color! It just makes me smile to look at it. And using it is always a joy. The intensity of the color shocks the eyeballs and makes my heart sing. And the feel! Its soft and smooth and silky and wonderful. So now I'm working away with this yarn and we'll have to see what the end result is. I've been known to change patterns mid project so don't be surprised if all this designing was for nothing. 

Do you ever spend hours on a concept only to scrap it once you're into the thick of it?

They trained a Ninja!!!!

I'm making progress on my organization of the stash! Not quite on schedule but I'm pleased so far.

 

So last night as I was sorting the top basket of the rack, I heard a noise. I figured it was the cat, looked around, but I didn't see her. So I went back to sorting, bent down to load up my small suitcase with the next batch of yarn to be balled and what do I see?

Apparently those neat balls of yarn make a very squishy, comfy bed. I just can't figure out how she snuck in there. That's the third shelf up and she's not a quiet, coordinated cat. The yarn must have been teaching her ninja skills. The real fun started when I had to try and pry her out of there and she did not want to go.

So this is my next mini stash to clean up:

And here's a better shot of my progress so far:

 

It does look so much nicer like this it inspires me to push on despite the sneaky plans of cat and yarn.

Tamsin

 

Yarn...the substance, not the tale. The tale comes later.

Since I'm so obsessed with natural fibers, I zipped over to Wikipedia to see what they had to say:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yarn

Natural fibers

Cotton being spun

The most common plant fiber is cotton, which is typically^[3] spun into fine yarn for mechanical weaving or knitting into cloth. The most commonly used animal fiber is wool harvested from sheep. For hand knitting and hobby knitting, thick, wool yarns are frequently used.
Other animal fibers used include alpaca, angora, mohair, llama, cashmere, and silk. More rarely, yarn may be spun from camel, yak, possum, qiviut, cat, dog, wolf, rabbit, or buffalo hair, and even turkey or ostrich feathers. Natural fibers such as these have the advantage of being slightly elastic and very breathable, while trapping a great deal of air, making for a fairly warm fabric. Also the "yarn" can be made out of the Cameron tree.
Other natural fibers that can be used for yarn include linen and cotton. These tend to be much less elastic, and retain less warmth than the animal-hair yarns, though they can be stronger in some cases. The finished product will also look rather different from the woollen yarns. Other plant fibers which can be spun include bamboo, hemp, corn, nettle, and soy fiber.

My adventure started when I heard there was mink yarn. Mink!!! So I went searching and found some. At the same store I found llama and alpaca so I got some of those too. The mink was lovely and very warm but I have to say....it smelled. It still smells and I've washed it a couple times. I'm hoping eventually it'll stop smelling because it really is soft and warm. The llama and alpaca were mixed with silk and so delicious. They're still some of my favorite yarns to work with and they sent me on an obsessive search for more luxury yarns.

Then I discovered Mini Maiden by Handmaiden Yarns. O.M.G. The colors! The feel! It's a silk/wool blend that is so far beyond amazing and quickly became my favorite go-to yarn. Just feast your eyes on the colors I have coming:

http://www.pinterest.com/pin/322711129521210377/
http://www.pinterest.com/pin/322711129521210375/

(thought I'd slip in a link to my bolero made with Mini Maiden  https://www.etsy.com/ca/listing/183735155/brilliant-bolero? )

The pictures don't capture the glow of the yarn that the silk gives. There's so much depth to the color that you wouldn't believe it. And because I love their colors so much I have used several of the Fleece Artist/Handmaiden yarns and I've loved every one of them. And they don't even pay me to say that!!!

I've worked with angora and mohair which both are delicious but can be really difficult to frog due to the fuzzy fibers. I just read a tip that says throw it in the freezer for ten minutes and it'll be easier to frog so I'm going to try that next time. I love the fuzzy halo but have always been aggravated by the difficult frogging so I avoided them. Hopefully this trick will let me work with them more.

I've found a company that sells buffalo yarn and that's next on my to try list. I used to work on a buffalo ranch and I know just how soft and fuzzy their hair can be and I think it would make stellar yarn. But first I have to work it into my budget :)

Possum? Really? I wanna try possum yarn too! And Qiviut. Cat, dog, wolf, rabbit....so many natural fibers to try! I can see this is going to be an adventure. I'll keep you posted on what I try.

Happy days :)
Tamsin

Squirrel !

There's a Disney movie with a dog that is completely me. He rushes up to a person and says " Hi there! My master made me this collar so I can communicate with you. Squirrel!" as he's totally distracted by a squirrel running by. That's me. Only usually its shiny.

This is what my straightening of the yarn stash was completely squirrelled by (and yes I do believe squirrel can be an adjective...if that's an adjective...darn it all now I have to research grammar.):

https://www.etsy.com/ca/shop/bfcrochetcreations?ref=l2-shopheader-name

That's right. I opened an Etsy shop. Just about had a heart attack doing it, but its an enormous step towards what I want so I needed to do it.  I only have one listing right now but I have every intention of getting some of my projects up over the course of the weekend, and filling in my Etsy page but I had to get something offered for sale or I was going to chicken out. That's the problem with chasing your dreams; you may want them with every breath you take but that doesn't mean its going to be easy. And your biggest opponent? Is yourself. I'm learning to push past the fear and just believe. What's the worst that will happen? I'll lose a little bit of money and never sell a thing. So what? I'll have great presents for everyone I know.

The support from all my friends has been amazing and has encouraged me to keep moving forward. Couldn't do it without you guys.

But if you want presents, you'd better hope I don't sell a thing. :)

Tamsin

Contemplating the Future

I started this blog about three times, trying to find a way to express my thoughts as I work my Mon-Fri job and realize I really, really don`t want to be doing this three years from now. Don`t get me wrong, my boss and co-worker are wonderful people and amazing to work with but...its not my dream. What I want is to be working in the fiber arts field. No expression has ever spoken to me like do what you love and you`ll never work a day in your life. I want to do what I love. I want to spend every day with yarn and crochet and knooking. I want to wake up each day eager to work. Because if its working with yarn, its not work at all.

When I`m working with a favorite yarn I often find my stitches slowing just so I can watch the play of color as it blends and changes, or shifts when the light hits it. This pleases my heart.

When I get a few rows done, I have to hold it up, just look at the magic that`s happening as I create this fabric, the drape, the shapes, the flow. This soothes my soul.

Crochet does not have to have a purpose. It`s enough that it is. It`s enough that it soothes and heals the stresses of the day. It SHOULD be indulgent and sensual.

I have such a love for luxury yarns. Not because of the price and prestige that`s often associated with natural fibers, but because of the sheer JOY of working with them. You will never get the sheen of silk from an acrylic yarn no matter how spectacular the acrylic is. You will never get the springiness of wool, the softness of Alpaca. Even viscose from bamboo has a feel to it that is amazing. When you work with natural fibers its not a craft, its an experience!

I don`t think I can put into words how it feels when you finish a project in a spectacular yarn, one you love so much you`re almost sad you`re done because that means you`re not working with it anymore. But here`s the best part...you can always start another. It never really ends because you can always make more things!

And when you wear what you`ve made, or gift it, or sell it, its such a thrill because you`re sharing your joy. That yarn you couldn`t stop touching because its sooooo soft now comforts someone else, brings a little joy and beauty to their day. And when they wear it, someone else sees it and it brings joy to them as well.

And that`s what I want to do. I want to help people to experience the joy and thrill of discovering what beauty there can be in taking something so utilitarian as crochet and creating something that pleases your heart and soothes your soul.

That`s my dream.
Tamsin

Day Four of the siege....

The yarn is fighting back. They found an ally for their horde and she is formidable.

Don't let that cute, innocent look fool you. She's a terror, grabbing the neatly wound yarn and running away with it, liberating it from the constricts of organization.

I'm weary from the fight, wondering if I can indeed win this war. I see my progress but is it enough when everyone seems against me?!

Truthfully, things are going well, kitty cat interference aside.

The sight of all that neatness gives me hope....and tells me I have room for more yarn. Bwahahaha!

The dirty word...

...organization.

Anyone who knows me will tell you my form of organization is more hack and slash than actual organization. But I think if you can reach into the center of a pile and pull out what you want that it's organized! Right? Maybe? Okay so that totally isn't organization.

I'm really trying so hard to tame this horde with organization that I've started the pages for my fiber book.  That's right, a complete list with samples of each yarn so I'll know what I have.

 

Not perfection but better than nothing.

I have to admit this is taking way longer than I thought it would. Waaaayyyyyy longer. It's the tangles that slow me down but I remind myself that's why the yarn is still sitting there and not crocheted into something amazing. I NEED to do this and I can't let myself get discouraged. I have the month...and maybe next month? to get this all together. Keep my eye on the prize and remind myself how much easier it will be when I can walk up to my stash, grab a skein of yarn and just start hooking.

And in the mean time, I need to luxuriate in all the fabulous yarns I do have, remind myself why I love my horde even if they are wild and untamed right now.

Soldier on!

Oh what a tangled web....

I'm making some progress taming the horde even though that progress is just confirming how much more I have to go. But I am determined! This will happen! The yarn will not win!

The yarn is rallying though. Last night while I slept the horde gathered and laid some traps for me.

 

 This is what the horde did.

I persisted but it did slow me down substantially. Little did they know, I just put a tidy skein on the automatic ball winder and untangled this. So multitasking made some progress.

 I want the whole rack to look like this!!!!

I'm pretty sure I know who the ring leaders are in this battle. That would be my luxury yarns because they want me to only love them.

Don't they look guilty? I swear the brown mix Applelaine yarn is whistling. 

As I'm working this project and whipping (or in this case, balling) the yarn in shape my dearest other half utter words that made my blood run cold. "Why don't you just throw that out instead of wasting all that time untangling it?"

WHAT??!!!! Throw it out??!!! NOT my babies!!!!!!!!

I have never been able to throw out even the smallest end of yarn but perhaps he has a point. If there is yarn I'm never going to use I could throw.....donate it. There. I can donate it. Put it up for adoption to be loved by someone else. I will add that step to my plan.

And I think I need to use that Mini Maiden at the front of the luxury yarns. :)

Taming The Horde (spelling intentional)

So like most fiber users I have a stash. A stash that has grown and gotten messier until it organized itself in to a horde. I swear it did.

I was lying in bed one night and I could hear the silk whispering to the acrylic to give it more room. The acrylic complied because it was silk asking after all. But that meant the cotton had to give way. The bulky yarn wasn't giving up its comfortable home, so the cotton went after the baby yarn. There was much scrambling, pushing, shoving and even a few lines dropped over the edge to search for new homes. In the end my horde ended up like this....

Yes I am ashamed I let it get this bad. I should have sent them all to military school at a young age. So my first goal is to sort out this mess, corral the yarn that has run to other sections of the house just to avoid the conflict and get this under control. I have this beautiful rack that I picked up at an auction for $10 (score!!!) and I intend to put it to good use. Who rules this house, me or the yarn???? (Please let it be me.)

So rather than tackle everything at once, an overwhelming prospect if I've ever heard one, I've given myself the month of March to complete it. I'm starting with a mini horde, the outriders if you will.

With my trusty ball-winder, I'm going to whip these bad boys into tidy cakes, ready for stashing in a new, regimented hoard rather than horde.

Wish me luck!

Introduction

Beginnings - they can be exciting or scary or both. But broken down a beginning is just a step. One step. Simple. Don't look beyond that one step, just take it otherwise you'll never go down the path, you'll stand there trembling forever.

Yes I am talking to myself.

So this blog is my first step towards what I want.

Each step is going to be confusing and exciting and aggravating at times I'm sure but the point is its all going TOWARDS something, following along a path with maybe a few detours along the way and shortcuts that aren't shortcuts at all, but all moving in the right direction.

So now to figure out how to do this blogging thing.... :)